Coconut Salted Caramel Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE COCONUT ICE CREAM

• 1 3/4 Cups Raw Cashews (soaked for 4-6 hours in cool water, or 1 hour in very hot water, then drained)

• 1 x 410gram Tin Coconut Milk

• 125ml Maple Syrup

• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

• Pinch of Sea Salt

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL

• 14 Pitted Dates (soak in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain)

• 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt

• 4-6 Tablespoons Unsweetened Nut Milk or Water (to thin the caramel sauce)

• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

INSTRUCTIONS

SALTED CARAMEL

1. Place the softened dates, 4 Tablespoon Almond milk or water, and vanilla in the food processor/blender and blend or process until very smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. If mixture if very thick, add the additional Tbsps milk or water to thin.

2. Continue to process until the mixture resembles caramel, then stir in the salt. Place in the freezer until ready to use.

ICE CREAM

1. Make sure the bowl for your ice cream maker has been in the back of the freezer for at least 2 days.

2. Place the soaked cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, 1/4 cup of the prepared date caramel, and vanilla in a food processor and blend until mixture looks like a smoothie. Once totally blended, you can chill in the fridge until ready to churn, or churn right from here.

3. Add all of the ice cream mixture to the frozen bowl of the ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturers directions until ice cream is at least soft-serve consistency. Mine took just 20 minutes of churning to get to this point (and I did not chill my mixture beforehand)

4. Once churned, you’re ready to put it all together! Add half of the ice cream mixture to a (cold) small loaf pan or other freezer safe container.

5. Using a spoon, dollop half the remaining date caramel over the ice cream and swirl in using the spoon or a knife.

6. Add the rest of the ice cream over the top, then repeat the process with the remaining caramel. Smooth the top and cover tightly with plastic wrap before placing in the freezer. Freeze at least 3-4 hours before serving. You can also freeze overnight.

7. The ice cream should be easy to scoop and creamy right out of the freezer. If it hardens too much, thaw on the countertop for 10 minutes before scooping. Enjoy!

SERVES 10